Voters show strong support for ‘Win 4 Bellefonte’ candidates in school board race
Republicans bolted to a commanding lead Tuesday in the race for Bellefonte Area school board, while Democrats pulled ahead for State College Area school board.
Candidates from the Win 4 Bellefonte ticket — Andrea Royer, Jeff Steiner, Jack Bechdel II and Jon Guizar — garnered more than double the votes of Democratic opponents Rodney Musser and Jordan Emely.
Royer and Bechdel would be new to the board; Steiner and Guizar would be reelected. Musser was voted off the board.
“We continue to be humbled by the outpouring of support for our bipartisan W4B ticket,” Guizar wrote in a text message Wednesday. “... We plan to tackle each issue through a thoughtful and deliberate process that strives to unite our board and our community by encouraging positivity and results.”
In a statement posted to Facebook, the Win 4 Bellefonte candidates wrote their ticket formed “when the Bellefonte Area School District Board of Directors fractured the community by forcing through an unnecessary name change at a time when the district so desperately needed steady and judicious leadership.”
After more than a year of discussion, the board voted 8-1 in April to retire the “Red Raider” logo and Native American imagery used throughout the district. Steiner was the only board member in opposition. Later, a 6-3 vote removed the word “red” from the district’s moniker, with Steiner, Guizar and member Kimberley Weaver in opposition.
In the State College Area School District, Deborah Anderson, Peter Buck, Carline Crevecoeur and Jackie Huff were in control of the top four spots.
Anderson and Buck had both Democratic and Republican nominations; Crevecoeur and Huff ran on Democratic nominations. The four leading candidates would be new school board members, and Crevecoeur would be the first Black woman elected to the board.
Incumbent David Hutchinson, who won a Republican nomination as a cross-filed candidate in the primary, had the fewest votes.
Below are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s election for contested school board races in Centre County. Results were updated following a report from the county released just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, with all precincts partially reported.
Bellefonte Area School District (4 seats)
Andrea Royer (D/R): 5,257
Jeffrey Scott Steiner (D/R): 5,131
Jack Bechdel II (R): 4,710
Jon Guizar (R): 4,666
Rodney E. Musser (D/R): 2,308
Jordan Emely (D): 2,246
Write-in: 87
Philipsburg-Osceola Area school board District 1 (1 seat)
Timothy L. Bainey (R): 132
Aaron Danko (D): 69
Write-in: 0
State College Area School District (4 seats)
Deborah Anderson (D/R): 11,106
Peter Buck (D/R): 11,000
Carline Crevecoeur (D): 10,778
Jackie Huff (D): 10,727
Michelle Glenn Young (R): 7,193
David K. Hutchinson (R): 5,755
Write-in: 140
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 11:06 PM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the political parties of the candidates for Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District’s board of directors.